Category Archives: S. June 2012

Around the Farm takes a quick look at some of yesterday’s performances by Indians prospects throughout the system. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in yesterday’s game.

Ronny Rodriguez (2B, Carolina): 2-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB

What a night for Ronny Rodriguez. Not normally known as a power hitter, Rodriguez jacked two home runs for the Mudcats last night, helping Carolina to a 9-6 win over Myrtle Beach. Rodriguez still needs to work on his plate discipline (he currently owns a 51:10 SO:BB on the season), but he is certainly showing why he was IPI’s 9th best prospect before the season. He plays great defense up the middle, and as his bat keeps maturing – he’s only in his age-20 season – he will only get better. Read More…

The Akron Aeros were busy over the past week, squeezing 9 games into 7 days thanks to two doubleheaders against the Binghamton Mets on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Aeros fared pretty well, winning five of the nines games to move their record to 47-29. That mark is 8.5 games better than the Harrisburg Senators in the Western Division and 3 games better than the Trenton Thunder in the race for the best record in the Eastern League. The Aeros continue to pace the field in the Eastern League and – while they are still a long way off – would seem to be virtual locks to make the playoffs. It’s a good time to be an Akron Aeros fan.

The Aeros will be in town all week, hosting the Erie SeaWolves Tuesday through Friday, then the Richmond Flying Squirrels Saturday through Tuesday. After that, the Aeros will be on the road until the end of the All-Star Break on July 12.

Note: The Aeros finished a suspended game from June 3 on Tuesday against the Binghamton Mets. Some places place those stats back on June 3, but I treated it as a game for this week. For example, while T.J. House didn’t actually pitch on Tuesday, his stats are still being considered because of the circumstances. Only 5+ innings of the game were played on June 3, so half the game was played during this past week. Read More…

The Akron Aeros spent the past week out on the road in New Britain and Reading where they lost 5 of their 8 games to fall to 42-25 on the season. The Aeros played 2 doubleheaders over the course of this road trip, which certainly added stress to their time on the road. With a suspended game to finish before the normally scheduled affair Tuesday against Binghamton and then another normal doubleheader on Thursday, the Aeros will continue to have a busy schedule, but at least they’ll be home.

Despite the rough week, the Aeros kept their stranglehold on the Western Division, where they are 7.5 games up on the Harrisburg Senators. The Reading Phillies closed the gap to 3 games after taking 4 of 5 from the Aeros last week (the Trenton Thunder are also 3 games back of Akron), but the Aeros remain the class of the Eastern League. After their 5 games in 3 days homestand against the Binghamton Mets, the 1st place Aeros will travel to Altoona for a Friday through Monday 4 game series. After that, the Aeros will be at Canal Park for an 8 game homestand. Read More…

Another six games, another six wins for the 1st place Akron Aeros. The Aeros put together an all-around attack at Canal Park against the New Britain Rock Cats and the Altoona Curve that brought them to success over the past week.

On the offensive side, manager Chris Tremie said that “We’ve been very good as an offensive team in our approach and not going out of the zone a whole lot and being able to drive the ball.” Going on, he said “There’s not an easy out in that lineup and they take a good approach to it and that wears on a pitcher.” The Aeros have been wearing on pitchers all year to the tune of a 39-20 record, good for 7.5 games over the Harrisburg Senators in the Western Division and 5 games over the Trenton Thunder in all of the Eastern League.

Once again, the Aeros will not be at home for the upcoming week, headed out to New Britain for a 3-game set and Reading for a 4-game set. The Aeros will return to the Canal Park on June 19th to resume their suspended game against the Binghamton Mets and begin a new 3-game set. Read More…

It was a short week for the Akron Aeros, as their games versus the Binghamton Mets on Sunday and Monday were suspended due to rain. In the few games the Aeros did get to play this week, they played well, winning four of five. The Aeros took all three games against the Bowie Baysox at Canal Park and split two games in Binghamton Friday and Saturday.

The Aeros are now at 33-20 on the year, 4.5 games ahead of the Harrisburg Senators in the Western Division. Akron also holds a 2 game lead over the New Britain Rock Cats for the best record in the entire Eastern League. Over the next week, the Aeros will try to defend that crown during a 3-game set at Canal Park against the Rock Cats Tuesday through Thursday and another 3-game set at home versus the Altoona Curve before having an off-day on Monday. Then the Aeros will head out on the road to New Britain and Reading. Read More…

When I asked Akron Aeros starting pitcher Steven Wright if we can start calling him the next Tim Wakefield before Thursday night’s game against the Bowie Baysox, he answered “I hope so. That’d be good.” The way Wright and his knuckleball have been dominating AA-hitters this year, it may be time to start taking the comparison seriously.

Before the season, there wasn’t much reason to expect much out of Wright. Despite being a 2nd round draft pick in 2006, he was entering his age-27 season and was coming off being ranked as the 82nd best prospect in the entire Indians system before this year and 97th before 2011 by IPI. A ranking that low in consecutive years doesn’t show much of a Major League future, but Wright has turned that upside down in 2012.

In 8 starts this year, Wright owns a 3-2 record, a sterling 1.75 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and very good peripherals (3.03 FIP, 8.16 SO/9). Most importantly, Wright has really started to master his knuckleball, a pitch that he’s been throwing almost his entire life. Read More…